


A Kitten?

by TheFreeJoker42



Series: Zi-O Family Shenanigans [1]
Category: Kamen Rider Zi-O
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2019-11-27 23:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18200699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFreeJoker42/pseuds/TheFreeJoker42
Summary: Sougo finds a kitten stuck in a hole, but he can't reach it alone, so he asks the only person he can think of for help





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ziril](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziril/gifts).



> This was an accident, I didn't mean to 😂

“Woz!” Sougo screamed until his voice was hoarse. 

The air was so cold it burned his skin, and his breath was almost opaque. He could barely feel his fingers and his eyes were drying out. It would be dark soon. 

Woz appeared beside him, visibly unnerved, ready to face whatever had made his overlord scream like that. 

“Waga maou, what is it?” 

Sougo pointed to the jagged hole beneath the wall. “There’s a kitten, I think it’s stuck.” 

Woz froze, allowing himself to absorb every word his demon overlord had just said. 

“A kitten.” He said in disbelief. “You called me for a kitten.” 

“Exactly, it’s stuck! You have to help me rescue it.” 

Woz let out a worried breath. “I thought it was something more serious.” 

“Something more serious? Woz, it’s a kitten! A baby cat!” 

Woz exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. “I am aware of the biological development of felines.” 

Sougo blinked, breaking down the unnecessarily long words Woz had just said. “It’s stuck.” 

“What do you expect me to do?” 

“I don’t know!” Sougo cried. “Scarf it?” 

“I-” Woz began to argue, but thought better of it and shook his head. It was far too late to entertain the idea of explaining anything as complex as teleportation to the young king in front of him panickingly flailing. 

The small sound of a kitten’s mew echoed from the hole. 

“Listen to it, Woz! It’s scared.” 

“How do you know, it’s just a cat?” 

“Well wouldn’t you be scared if you fell down a hole and couldn’t get out?” 

“I… can’t imagine a scenario in which I would be unable to escape a hole…” 

The kitten mewed again, quieter this time. 

It was too far down for him to reach, his grazed hands and arms were a not so gentle reminder of that. And it seemed too steep for the kitten to climb up. 

“Please, Woz.” 

With a loud and fairly animated sigh, Woz brushed past Sougo and knelt beside the hole. 

“Please be gentle.” 

Woz unwrapped his scarf and gently fed it through the hole, focusing all his attention on the weight and movement of it, any indication at all that it had landed on the cat. 

“It’s very difficult… to know where the kitten is… without seeing it.” 

“You can do it though, can’t you?” Sougo asked, visibly shaking at this point. 

To his credit, Woz really did try. But it just wasn’t happening. He may have found the cat, far deeper than he had anticipated, but he just wasn’t able to wrap around it. It was too intricate a maneuver to attempt blindly. 

Woz retracted his scarf and stood up swiftly, startling Sougo. “Do you have your phone?” 

“My phone? Why?” 

“I can’t rescue it if I can’t see it.” 

Sougo thought for a moment, wondering how on earth a phone could help with that, before it dawned on him. “Oh! Yes.” He fumbled around in his pocket. “Here.” 

He watched with dreaded anticipation as Woz used his scarf to lower the phone down, having set it to record. He kept going until he once again felt it touch the cat, lifted it slightly, waited a few seconds, and brought it back up. 

“I don’t want to see it. No, show me! No, I don’t want to see it.” Sougo paced, letting the panic take over. His chest was tight, and he could no longer feel a thing. 

“Is it okay?” He asked. “Please, tell me it’s okay.” 

Woz deleted the video and passed the phone back to Sougo. “I’ll try again.” 

“Woz! Tell me it’s okay.” 

“It’s okay.” 

“You’re just telling me that!” 

Woz sighed, looking up to his shaking king while feeding his scarf through once again. “It may be too tight. I’m not convinced a rescue is possible.” 

“Don’t say that!” Sougo cried. 

“Would you rather I lie?” 

“I don’t want… no, I just… we can’t leave it.” 

The kitten’s cries grew more intense, as though in sync with Sougo’s anxiety, begging Woz along with him that no you can’t leave me. 

True to his word, Woz really did try again. He tried many times to wrap his scarf around the awkwardly angled kitten. But every time he tried, the kitten grew more distressed. 

“Please be gentle.” Sougo squeaked, running his hands through his hair. 

“Waga maou, I appreciate your concern, but I can only be so gentle when trying to pull a kitten out of a hole.” 

The video had shown the kitten to be in an extremely tight spot, one that left little to no room for Woz to get his scarf around, and he was no animal expert, but he was sure any attempt would risk injuring it further. 

The kitten had been quiet for some time now, Sougo couldn't help but fear the worst. He felt both hot and cold at the same time while he watched. If he hadn't been out in the open, he'd have called it claustrophobia. 

The minutes dragged, feeling like hours, and Sougo had imagined every possible scenario at that point. He didn't even know what the poor kitten looked like, or the condition it was in, but that didn't stop his imagination running wild. 

He was focusing so intently on the hole, it took him a while to realise Woz was speaking to him. Given the frustration in his tone, he must have been trying to talk to him for some time. 

“Sorry?” 

“Go home.” 

“What?! Why?” 

“You are tired and stressed and not helping. Go home.” 

“No, I- I'm fine.” 

“If you truly care for the wellbeing of this cat, you would go home and stop distracting me.”

Sougo shook his head profusely. “You're just saying that! As soon as I leave, so will you. You'll… You'll just tell me you co-couldn't… “

“I will try to the best of my ability, do you truly think I would purposely subject myself to you… sobbing? Go home.” 

Sougo wasn't in the position to think of an argument. He certainly didn't feel right, leaving the poor kitten alone with Woz. His trust in Woz was a grey area, but would he really waste his time with this just because Sougo asked him to? 

He had to trust. 

“Promise me you won't just give up.” 

Woz sighed. “It's as I said.”

Sougo let out a deep, trembling breath and softly said “okay.”

Woz waited until Sougo had disappeared from view before continuing. 

His scarf had grown taut, he had the kitten, but he felt no resistance, no movement at all that gravity couldn't account for. 

 

Sougo couldn't settle. It was dark out, pitch black almost. He had no idea how long they had been there, and how long ago he'd left Woz. 

It had to be hours. 

Sougo was on the verge of falling asleep in his chair when he heard the sound of someone approaching. 

Woz. 

He didn't dare look up. For a moment, he was sure time had stood still. 

Until the meow. 

“Woz!” Sougo yelled, leaping from his chair. The kitten was so much smaller than he had imagined, looking even smaller bundled up in Woz's scarf. 

“Don't scare the cat.” 

“You actually did it.” 

“Of course, you did ask it of me, did you not?” 

Sougo gently took the kitten from Woz, while it dawned on him that he had no idea how to take care of a kitten, nor was he equipped to do so. 

And it was far too late to go out and buy anything. 

But then again, a decent ruler would know how to make do. 

Just a few hours later, Junichiro would wake up to the beginning of a very peculiar morning. 

He would be greeted by shreds of torn up paper scattered all over the clock room floor. For a moment, his half asleep mind would try to convince him they had been robbed. 

He would find every bowl they owned half filled with water or milk, arranged haphazardly in the dining room. He would find loose morsels of fish and other meat decorating the table, on which his sleeping nephew was leaning. 

And perhaps most unusually, he would find Woz asleep in the corner, the kitten curled up beside him. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is also dedicated to the number of animals I've had to rescue over the years including but not limited to a hedgehog, a ferret and some kind of bird, I'm not sure what, but whatever it was, it was bloody evil


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now the kitten is safe and sound, what should they do next?

The kitten settled in very quickly. 

They took her to the vet as soon as they were able. They didn't have a cat carrier, and had no idea where to find one at such a short notice, so they had no choice but to take her in a cardboard box. Or rather, a cardboard box inside a cardboard box just to make sure it was sturdy, with plenty of air holes. 

Aside from a few cuts and bruises, she was miraculously fine. A little young to be left alone, but not dangerously so. The previous night had proven she was capable of eating solid food, provided it was mushed up, and the vet confirmed it was safe, but she would likely need persuasion. Again, they already knew this. 

But physically she was fine. And Sougo couldn't help but notice Woz's subtle sigh of relief, but he knew better than to mention it. 

One of three things were most likely to have happened, the vet had told them. Either the kitten had escaped, or had been abandoned by either her mother or her owner. Unfortunately, she was too young to have been chipped. So it couldn't be said for certain that she didn't have a terrified owner frantically looking for her. 

"So, what are you going to do?" Junichiro asked them. 

"Well, we're going to put out lost kitten posters, but if nobody claims her, I'd really like to keep her, if that's okay of course." 

Junichiro smiled, scratching the kitten on the top of her head. "There's no issue with me. Did you two have breakfast while you were out?" 

"Oh, yeah, breakfast. We didn't really think about that." Sougo laughed. Truth be told, he had been far too nervous to even think about food. Every nightmare scenario had run through his head, and although they had only found her that night, he couldn't help but feel a warm attachment to the curious little fluff ball. He was surprised Woz didn't say anything though. 

"I'll put something on." Junichiro said, disappearing into the kitchen. 

"What do you think about Nanami?" 

Until then, Woz had been absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the table for the kitten to play-hunt, but at that moment, snapping back to reality, he pulled his hand back. Though the kitten was quick to find something else to paw at. 

“Should you really be naming it so quickly? She may still have an owner, and in that case you do know you would have to return her? You shouldn't let yourself get too attached." 

“I know.” Sougo sighed. “But it doesn’t feel right not giving her a name. So, Nanami. What do you think?”

Woz sighed as he heard footsteps above. “Any name is fine.”

Sougo narrowed his eyes, but said nothing, other than greeting Geiz and Tsukuyomi as they entered. Geiz stood at the doorway, tensing, his metaphorical heckles shooting right up as he glared uneasily at the fluffy creature on the table. 

“What is that?”

Woz tilted his head. “I know you don’t have much domestic experience, Geiz-kun, but I can’t imagine you’ve never seen a kitten before.”

“Be nice, Woz.” Sougo scooped up the kitten and presented her to Geiz. “We rescued her last night.”

“We?” Tsukuyomi questioned, taking a seat, and urging Geiz to do the same.

“Hm,” Sougo nodded, “well, I suppose Woz did most of the rescuing. Which is why you need to agree on the name, Woz! She's just as much your kitten as mine. You know, if we get to keep her." 

"I never asked for this." 

Geiz reached out his hand, but the kitten shot her ears back and hissed the most tiny and adorable hiss Sougo had ever heard. Woz's eyes immediately lightened as he leaned across the table and scooped her up. 

"I think Nanami is a beautiful name. Nanami, with the kanji for beautiful of course. Or should it be sea, to commemorate her eyes as deep and blue as the ocean itself?" 

"You changed your tune." Sougo laughed. 

Geiz scowled, crossing his arms. "It's only because it hissed at me. Don't pets need a lot of looking after?" 

"Yeah, are you sure you two can give her the..." Tsukuyomi paused, "love she needs, especially while you're busy fighting Another Riders?" 

Woz gasped and covered Nanami's ears. "What do you know of love?" 

"She can't understand you, Woz." Geiz said through grit teeth. 

"Not with that attitude, she can't." 

"That doesn't even make any sense!" 

"You don't make any sense." 

The two sat back as Junichiro returned with breakfast and politely thanked him. Woz kept quiet when the kitten left his hands and softly padded towards Geiz's bowl, sticking her face into the food before he even had time to react. Tsukuyomi sighed and tried to coax her away while Woz openly laughed. Even Junichiro chuckled. 

"I'll get you some more." 

Nanami returned to Sougo and Woz's side of the table, peering over the edge and wiggling. She kept stretching out a paw as though testing the drop. 

"Do you want to get down?" Woz asked, gently picking her up and moving her to the floor where he sat with her. Geiz took that as an opportunity to steal Woz's abandoned breakfast. 

 "And you were worried  _I'd_ get too attached." Sougo smiled, watching Woz gently playing with the kitten on his lap. It was nice to see the prophet looking so homely, although he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd compose himself and return to his indifferent facade. So he tried to keep his attention on his breakfast, only allowing himself the briefest of looks, and the smallest of smiles. 

 

The night of the rescue, both Sougo and Woz had fallen asleep unintentionally. Thankfully, the kitten had found a cozy bed in Woz's scarf that night, but they hadn't considered where would be best for her to sleep. She couldn't be left downstairs by herself - or maybe she could, but neither were prepared to risk it. They had also been advised to introduce habits early, such as where she should eat and sleep and... other things. 

At first, they'd considered housing her in Sougo's room, but... well, it wasn't the tidiest of rooms, and there wasn't enough time to kitten-proof it. So it seemed the best option would be to set up her sleeping arrangements in Woz's shared room. 

Much to Geiz's dismay. 

Geiz stood in the doorway, staring at the curled up kitten on his futon. 

"It's on my bed." 

Woz looked up from the book he'd been reading, looked over to the kitten, and then back to Geiz. "I can see that." 

Geiz was silent again for a few seconds. "Make it move." 

"Nanami, would you be so kind as to vacate Geiz-kun's bed?" 

The kitten of course did nothing, not even remotely acknowledging Woz had spoken. 

"Apologies, I tried." 

Geiz huffed and approached the futon. "Oi, cat." 

"Her name is Nanami and you will show the royal kitten some respect." 

"The royal kitten?!" Geiz let out a deep sigh.  _Pick your battles, Geiz. You don't want to argue over a cat._ "Keep control of your cat, Woz."

"She's a kitten, what do you expect? She doesn't understand she can't sleep on your bed. If you don't like it, you can always sleep downstairs." 

"I was here first! I'm not losing my room to a  _cat_. Just pick her up!" 

"You pick her up." 

"She's not my cat." 

 "Then leave her alone." 

Geiz took a deep, frustrated breath, and tried again to coax the kitten. "Cat. Kitten. Nanami. Move." 

"You have to be nicer than that, Geiz-kun. Appeal to her good nature." 

"She. Is. A. Cat." 

Woz watched amused for a few more minutes while Geiz helplessly tried to coax the kitten to move, before eventually sighing dramatically and reached over to gently retrieve Nanami.

"You're welcome." 

He gently set Nanami down on his own futon beside him, the small kitten mewing grumpily from being disturbed. Geiz wasted no time reclaiming his bed, settling in and turning his back. Though a few hours later, when his roommate was asleep, he was disturbed by a small paw tapping at him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to just be one chapter but I couldn't stop thinking about it.  
> I'm having that feeling right now where I want to write stuff, and I have a bunch of fully planned wips but when I go to write them I'm just......... blank  
> And the first part of this had just been sitting there since the 21st of April apparently so I just thought why not try to finish it?


End file.
